Chelsea played against West Ham with a freedom rarely seen since Rafael Benitez took charge. There was also no discernible fan protest against Benitez from the home supporters. The two are not unrelated.

Jon Obi Mikel told Standard Sport last week the players had been affected by the vitriolic atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and in a more welcoming environment yesterday, they delivered the type of performance owner Roman Abramovich craves in his pursuit of a style akin to Barcelona.

West Ham should have been defeated by considerably more than the two goals Chelsea managed through Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard as the home side showed no ill-effects from their engagement in the Europa League to move above Tottenham in the Premier League table.

Hazard’s goal was a moment of outstanding quality and the Belgian international was in the mood throughout. A wondrous piece of skill just before his well-taken strike exemplified the level to which Chelsea’s players felt able to express themselves.

Demba Ba endured a torrid — or Torres-like — afternoon in front of goal but there was no suggestion of the home fans turning on the beleaguered striker as they do with £50million Fernando on a regular basis.

It was a game to inspire confidence in a team that have been through the mill this season. There were mitigating factors that helped things along.

Chelsea scored an early goal not long after news seeped through from White Hart Lane that Spurs were losing to Fulham. Lampard’s 200th goal for the club turned the second half into an extended period of adulation for a player rightly heralded among the finest in Chelsea’s history. The identity of their opponents also concentrated minds. West Ham’s following gave as good as they got on the terraces but their team never moved out of first gear.

However, there was no 16th-minute vigil to Roberto di Matteo — even with the score at 0-0 — and perhaps some supporters are finally willing to reluctantly accept their temporary marriage of convenience with Benitez.

Discontent is, of course, never far away at Chelsea and should results slide, it is inevitable that Benitez will face renewed opposition. But perhaps there is a grudging acknowledgement that the situation is unlikely to change until the summer and continuing such vociferous protest could leave the club without Champions League football once Benitez departs.

It is an uneasy alliance but Chelsea fans need Benitez before they can be rid of him. Whereas he made a mistake in not apologising for several derogatory statements about the Blues when engaging in mind games with Jose Mourinho, the Spaniard’s Middlesbrough missive is beginning to look like a smart move.

Having initially dismissed any correlation between the team’s struggles at home and fan resentment at his appointment, Benitez finally addressed the matter head on by admitting the team were suffering.

Confirming he would leave at the end of the season helped. But those post-match comments at Middlesbrough that were initially viewed as a parting rant from a man on the brink now appear to have had some effect in helping temper a troubled situation.

The team have only lost once since — to Steaua Bucharest, a defeat that was meaningless as they still qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals at the Romanian side’s expense.

And yesterday they revelled in the tranquillity, even if Benitez was keen to play it down. “I think you have an opinion but for me, if the team is playing well, the fans will enjoy,” he said. “I think that’s the main target for us: to stick together and try and enjoy the quality of our players and hopefully our results. You have to make your own analysis but I’m really pleased with the atmosphere and I am really pleased with the team.”

The accompanying smile hinted at his real opinion. Positive results always lighten the mood but Chelsea were afforded breathing space by their own fans as opposed to the suffocation that has happened previously.

That relationship remains both fluid and tense. Things could quickly turn the other way but supporters critical of Benitez may just see the product of a positive environment on their team yesterday and decide the baiting can wait.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is another whose future remains uncertain and he will have been chastened by his team’s inability to compete, especially in light of Wigan’s victory at Newcastle leaving the Hammers just six points outside the relegation zone.

“I’m always worried until we’re mathematically safe,” he said. “You never stop worrying as a manager. You’re always looking at what could happen. But my belief in our home record particularly is that it’ll be good enough for us to get safe.

“At the end of the day, it is not about Wigan being six points off us, it’s about us getting to 39 points. That’s our concern. It doesn’t matter what Wigan do then or whoever because not that many will get to 39 points.”